SLIDER

10 ways to bond with your tarot deck

13.8.17

I think that when it comes to giving accurate and useful
tarot readings, one of the easiest ways to achieve this is to have a solid bond
with your deck. What does that mean? It means that you and your deck understand
each other – physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually. A solid
bond means a solid reading. Now, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of
books/websites/blogs etc. out there who claim that the quickest way to bond
with a tarot deck is to sleep with the cards under your pillow or near your
bed. I’m going to call bullshit on this because it is bloody impossible to
sleep with a deck of 78 cards shoved under your pillow (as a naïve young
reader, trust me, I tried this) and I don’t see how sleeping on a deck actually
helps your connection.

1. Welcome the deck –
I’ve been reading cards long enough to notice that each deck has its own
unique personality. Do I believe tarot decks are living things? No. But I do
believe that it’s always nice to get a good welcome, so when you first bring
your deck home, say hello. I usually do this by passing the deck through some
sage smoke and then fanning out the cards and holding them against my heart. I
say hi, welcome, what’s up? And then silently imbue them with my intentions.

2. Do a deck
interview – Learn about your deck. Shuffle and draw a card for the
following questions: what’s your personality? How will this blend with my own?
What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What’s the best way for us
to work together? How can we connect on a deeper level? What will you teach me?

3. Start daily draws –
Ah yes, that age-old tarot technique. There’s a reason why it’s so revered.
Daily draws are a fab way to get to know a new deck and see what the day has in
store for you. Commit to doing daily draws for three weeks, or however long
feels good for you. You’ll be bonding with the deck in no time.

4. Have a
conversation – Shuffle the deck. Tell it what’s on your mind, then draw a
card from the top. How do you respond to that card? Pull another. What about
that one? Pull another etc.

5. Imbue with your
energy – If you need to connect quickly because you’ve just bought your
deck and already have a sitter, here is a very ungraceful but tried and tested
method of getting your bond on. Shuffle the deck and then briefly touch each
card. This will get your energy into the deck and hopefully it’ll start
responding. It’s worked for me.

6. Don’t look at the
little white book – Seriously. Just put it away and allow the deck to speak
to you in its own language. Intuitively you’ll vibe with whatever it is that you
need to know. Sometimes the easiest way to give great readings is to shut off
the logical part of your brain (the part that craves the little white book) and
trust your intuition. That’s why most of us read in the first place – to tap
into that hidden inner voice, right?

7. Journey into the
cards – This process is a little more time consuming than the others, but
if you have a vivid imagination it can yield great results. Choose a card,
study the image, then close your eyes and imagine you’re in the card,
interacting with whatever is going on. Trust every insight you receive and
write it down.

8. Breathe into it – Hold
the deck, think of the type of relationship you want to have with it (e.g. ‘I
want this deck to help me improve my intuitive reading’) and then blow your
intention into the deck. Energy flows where intention goes.

9. Think about what
you like – Loving something instantly forges a connection. Every time you
pick up your deck, focus on all the things you love about it. Give a deck love
and it’ll love you back.

10. Care about it – This
means making sure you store your deck somewhere safe so it doesn’t get warped from heat,
it means treating it with respect and regularly inspecting it for signs of wear
and tear. A little respect goes a long way.